Carol Vorderman

Popular UK game show host, is the latest a slew of famous females that are earning their wings. The former “Countdown” star spent the Christmas holiday in 2012 logging air miles in a Cessna 172 to fulfill her lifelong dream of obtaining a private pilot’s license. Carol said in a Hello! magazine interview that she had her heart set on learning to fly when she first saw the Concorde take to the skies. She passed her written test and had planned to have her license by Easter, but was sidelined by an injury.

Angelina Jolie

Took her first flight as a student pilot in 2004. She was inspired by her son, Maddox, and his love of planes as well as her hopes to help refugees in Africa and Asia with airborne supply drops. She received her private pilot’s license in 2005. Shortly thereafter, Angelina did an interview with Vogue and was photographed wearing a short skirt, high heels and Gucci sunglasses. Once in the captain’s seat, the skirt was hiked up and the shoes were kicked off. This seems to be customary with Angelina, who is reported to fly barefoot.

Gisele Bundchen

She became a helicopter pilot in 2009. The supermodel passed her written test and started getting her flight hours in while eight months pregnant. Most women are told to avoid flying after their third trimester, but the incomparable Gisele was able to earn qualifying hours with her doctor’s okay as helicopters don’t fly very far or very fast.

Hilary Swank

She learned to fly while filming “Amelia,” the 2009 biopic about the famous female aviator. Initially, she took flying lessons as research for her role, but it sparked her interest in aviation. The Oscar winner had to postpone obtaining her license after the film wrapped as the studio’s insurance policy forbade her from taking her qualifying solo flight during shooting. Not only did Hilary obtain her private pilot wings, but she appeared on “Oprah” to help a guest overcome their fear of flying.

Veronica Lake

Famous female aviatrixes are not limited to present-day; known for her femme fatale roles in the 1940’s, earned her pilot’s license in 1946. Veronica Lake was known for her long, “peek-a-boo” blonde hair and cool smoldering beauty that Kim Basinger emulated for her Oscar-winning role in the 1997 film, “LA Confidential”. Ironically, it was Veronica’s first movie role for Paramount in the military drama –“I Wanted Wings”—that launched her career in 1941. Veronica went on to a string of box office hits in the early 1940’s and took advantage of her down time in 1946 to earn her wings. She then went on to fly solo between LA and New York.

About the author:

Vanessa Maye, a Freelance writer for Phoenix East Aviation, a International flight academy in United States.

Image Credits:

Featured Image By Expert Infantry via Flickr shared under CC BY 2.0 license.